Comments on: Fourth-quarter GDP growth was bad: here’s whyhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/
Canada's national weekly current affairs magazineTue, 31 Mar 2015 20:43:01 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2By: s_c_fhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072613
s_c_fFri, 01 Mar 2013 20:46:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072613I agree that a high dollar is good for the country. However, a rising dollar will reduce exports, simply because the rest of the world will get less for the same amount of their own money.
]]>By: Willhelmhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072611
WillhelmFri, 01 Mar 2013 12:50:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072611Actually, Canada’s abysmal productivity and lack of business investment is the real culprit — not the dollar. A high Canadian dollar is good for the country (in the long term). It maintains our wealth, keeps inflation down, and encourages efficiencies. The United States did exceedingly well in the 1990s because of its strong dollar policy! Switzerland is another great example of a country able to compete and innovate despite its ultra strong currency — the franc (it hit C$1.10 today). If Canadian businesses would quit whining and actually INVEST in productivity enhancing machinery and equipment, Canadian exports would improve. I’ve never believed in devaluing our way to prosperity and feel those who advance such notions are common, uninspiring, and undercutting. It’s inherently second-rate of some in this country to openly argue for a weak dollar. Pathetic. Improve productivity, improve export performance.

(We could also help productivity growth — not to mention benefit financially — by dismantling our antiquated supply-side management system for dairy and by opening up the telecom sector to free-market foreign competition).

]]>By: s_c_fhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072609
s_c_fThu, 28 Feb 2013 20:49:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072609That’s false. The BoC is not running any version of QE.

Yes, some countries in the world are doing QE, namely the US, Japan, and the Euro Central Bank, but not Canada and not many other countries.

]]>By: jimmhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072607
jimmThu, 28 Feb 2013 17:13:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072607Well said, spoken like a human being with compassion for human life.
]]>By: Slavophilehttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072605
SlavophileThu, 28 Feb 2013 16:50:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072605Carney was keeping interest rates low and stoking the housing market with cheap credit in the belief that when housing prices peaked, there would be a modest correction that would unfold smoothly without major external shocks. Unfortunately, things don,t seem to be working out as planned. The US sequester will be one big negative shock and we could get another one from Europe. Bizarrely, the Keystone XL pipeline was never mentioned by name in the last Monetary Policy Report, but it seems that the BoC’s forecasts were based on it going ahead and this doesn’t seem to be panning out, or should I say it seems they may have hit a dry hole. Even if it is approved, it may be at the expense of growth- and job-destroying concessions to Washington by the Canadian government. The probability of a housing bust in Vancouver-Victoria, the GTA and other Canadian urban centres in 2013 seems to be substantially greater now than it was in October. No wonder Carney is getting out while the getting is good.
]]>By: StephanLarosehttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072603
StephanLaroseThu, 28 Feb 2013 07:11:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072603Until banking cartels stop getting away with their appalling financial crimes and getting bailed out to the tune of trillions instead of letting the market take them down as is natural, taxpayers will be on the hook, costs/taxes will go up for everyone, credit will remain difficult to obtain, and everyone will suffer. The problem with the modern global economy is that it is incredibly energy inefficient due to all the global sourcing/shipping that is done due to currency/subsidy distortions; “free” trade which gives corporations more power to achieve monopoly and escape costs like fair pay for employees, environmental protection, healthcare, safety regulations as well as escape accountability to the public; and of course, a debt-based financial system in which banks print money out of thin air and lend it to people, corporations and governments that must pay it back with real value. Until the citizens own their national banks outright and counterfeit-based… I mean “fractional reserve debt” based banking is either abolished or re-engineered to profit the citizens on whom national currency values are based instead of tiny cabals of men who expect trillions of dollars of reward for defrauding the world, then society will be marred by poverty, wealth-gaps and confict, and the economy will only get worse and worse until we achieve something resembling feudalism. Our corporate/financial masters want low-paid workers and docile consumers. Not empowered democratic citizens and an equitable society.
]]>By: Thwimhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072601
ThwimThu, 28 Feb 2013 04:53:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072601If the bright side is what happened to Argentina circa 2001/2002.. but globally?

That’s.. not very bright at all.

]]>By: carsjamhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072599
carsjamThu, 28 Feb 2013 03:22:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072599Must be Windows 8 install day over there. :-)
]]>By: Sask guyhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072597
Sask guyThu, 28 Feb 2013 03:07:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072597The dollar is no longer rising because the BoC is running its own version of QE. Every country is now running a printing press in a race for global currency devaluation. No the sequester won’t do much to Canada, but when the US finally collapses we will feel the pain. Debt must grow exponentially, and the curve is approaching infinity. Printing money just hastens the destruction of wealth, and interest rates must eventually rise. When they do, it will be apparent to all that the US debt is unpayable. On the bright side, we will get a reboot of the system, and the financial cronyism will be eliminated.
]]>By: ealinihttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072595
ealiniThu, 28 Feb 2013 02:49:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072595I know, apologies — I usually have much better looking things, technical difficulties today
]]>By: s_c_fhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072593
s_c_fThu, 28 Feb 2013 02:36:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072593Certainly the higher dollar is one reason for the drop in exports, and the dollar is no longer rising against its American counterpart, so you can expect exports to perform better in terms of growth in the future.

As for the sequester, it is so minuscule in relation to the entire budget it will have absolutely no effect on Canada. We’re talking about a small fraction of a single percentage of government spending. It’s not even a spending cut, it’s a cut in the level of spending growth in a low-inflation environment.

]]>By: carsjamhttp://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/fourth-quarter-gdp-growth-will-be-bad-expect-more-of-that/#comment-1072591
carsjamThu, 28 Feb 2013 01:32:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=354427#comment-1072591Erica, if you could lose the grey background in your charts, and other cheezy Excel defaults, the world would be a better place.
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